Texas State University-San Marcos
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
NUTR 4301 - Career Exploration in Nutrition and Foods
Summer 2013
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Applied experience under the supervision of a professional mentor in nutrition and foods-related professions, services, businesses, and/or research. Prerequisite: must meet college, department and program requirements. (Capstone Course)
PREREQUISITES AND COURSE CREDIT*
In order to take NUTR 4301, students must first meet these specific enrollment criteria:

Completion of the following hours: o 75 semester credit hours o 24 semester credit hours from TEXAS STATE o 27 NUTR semester credit hours, including currently enrolled courses**

Completion of the following courses or their equivalents: o ENG 1310, 1320 o MATH 1315 o COMM 1310 o HIST 1310, 1320 o POSI 2310, 2320 o CHEM 1341/1141 & CHEM 1342/1142**

GPA Criteria: o Cumulative GPA ≥ 2.00 o Cumulative Texas State GPA ≥ 2.00 o Major GPA ≥ 2.25

Criteria for Specific Career Exploration Experiences (CEE): o Completion of/enrollment in NUTR 4360 (Medical Nutrition Therapy) is required for hospital-based CEEs. o Completion of/enrollment in NUTR 4367 & 4167 (Food Systems Management) is required for food service-related CEEs.
* Exceptions will be made for those who already have a baccalaureate degree and are working to complete courses for a Verification Statement.
** NUTR 4361 (Biochemical Nutrition) and NUTR 4362 (Nutrition & Genetics) are NOT prerequisites.
** For Nutrition (with a minor) or teacher certification tracks: If chemistry is not required for your track, substitute 2 biology courses. You must have completed (or be enrolled in) at least 5 NUTR courses
(instead of 27 hours) before you are qualified to enroll.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
• Identify and procure a supervised professional experience
• Prepare a professional portfolio
• Prepare a current resume
• Engage in professional practice related to an area of interest in nutrition and food science
• Explore the positive and negative aspects of working in the chosen professional environment
• Define short and long term career goals
COURSE TEXT AND READINGS
As required by site/mentor
Strunk W, Jr. The Elements of Style. 1999 ( http://www.bartleby.com/141/ )
COURSE POLICIES

Terminology: This course is NOT an “internship” and your role is not that of an “intern”. More correctly, the course is a “practicum” or “career exploration experience” (CEE), you are a “student”, and the professional contact is often referred to as a “mentor”. This distinction is particularly important to avoid confusion in the field of nutrition, because nutrition graduates seeking the
Registered Dietitian (RD) credential are deemed “interns” when enrolled in an accredited postgraduate dietetic internship.

Eligibility. Students must meet eligibility criteria before enrolling in NUTR 4301.

TRACS. This course is supported by TRACS, and uses the Assignment Tab where assignments should be uploaded. Most interaction with faculty will be through TRACS. All forms required for the courses are also found on TRACS. The Portfolio guidelines are found under the Resources folder on
TRACS. Many of the forms are also located on the NUTR 4301 website
(http://www.fcs.txstate.edu/degrees-programs/nutr/nutr_4301.html).

Stages of Preparation

Locate Career Exploration Experience (CEE). o Prior to registering to take this course, each student must identify a suitable Career
Exploration Experience (CEE) site that will offer a minimum of 150 hours of work experience under professional supervision. o Potential sites include a variety of venues where food and nutrition services comprise a significant component of the effort, and include, but are not limited to, health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics, public health venues, restaurants and institutional food service facilities, sports facilities, spas, community service organizations such as senior meal programs, food banks, homeless feeding programs, community outreach/research venues, research laboratories, and industry. o Once you have identified a potential CEE site, you can approach the prospective mentor/agency with your request. You should complete the Introduction/Expectations for
Mentor form (TRACS) and give the form to your CEE mentor, using it to help you explain the requirements for the CEE.

Pre-approval for CEE. o For NUTR 4301 offered in Summer 2013 semester, the fully completed Application Form should be submitted as per the posted schedule (first Monday in March). o The course instructor will review your application and notify you by email regarding whether the application has been approved.


Finalize CEE Agreement. o If your application is approved, you will finalize the description of your CEE in consultation with your mentor (with mentor signature) and submit the completed CEE Agreement Form
(TRACS) to your Assignment Folder in TRACS. The CEE Agreement includes three sections:
(1) Job Description of CEE (either actual description or a description developed with mentor); (2) Letter of Application to that Job (as if you were applying for this position); and
(3) Goals, Objectives, and Outcome Measures of your CEE.

Portfolio and Reports. o Portfolio. A portfolio (assignment on TRACS) is a professional binder that includes information about you as a professional. Review the assignment and Career Services guidelines posted before submitting. o Reports. You will be required to submit 4 reports and a final report (see Assignments). All reports are due by dates identified in the Course Evaluation section. All reports should be single-spaced, with all margins no larger than 1 inch.

Mentor (Student Performance) Evaluation of Student. o You must give your mentor the CEE Student Performance Evaluation to evaluate your performance and explain that the mentor must complete and submit the evaluation in order for you to receive credit for the course. The mentor must email the completed form directly to the instructor by the specified deadline. The evaluation is confidential and should not be viewed by the student. The mentor must sign and date this form, verifying that you have completed at least 150 hours and performed all the duties agreed upon between the mentor and the student. NOTE: The grade for this course may be docked substantially or changed to an F, regardless of grades earned on assignments, if the student: (1) provides false information about the CEE experience; (2) works fewer than 150 hours; or (3) fails to perform quality work as per the agreement with the mentor. Thus, if the mentor denies your participation or indicates that your performance was very poor, you may receive an F in the course. NOTE: This mentor evaluation may be handled through an online survey in Summer 2013 – check with your instructor.
COURSE EVALUATION
The following table details the basis for your grade in the course. All work must be turned in by the specified date/time. Late work will be assigned a grade of zero. All work must use the forms provided.
Work will be graded for originality, professionalism, grammar, writing style, and adherence to guidelines. You must use the following naming conventions to name files that you upload in the
Assignment section of TRACS: LastName_Name_of_Assignment_docx. For example, the Final Report document file name would be Jones_Final_Report.docx. NOTE: You must name the file correctly and save to your hard drive before uploading. If your file has a different name and you rename it in TRACS as you upload, the actual file name the instructor downloads to grade will not be correct.
Final Comment: This goal of this course is to prepare you for your profession. Thus, you should treat the experience as if it were a paid job. You should behave as if your mentor is your work supervisor. The written work you submit for grading must represent the very best of your ability. Poorly crafted
assignments will be given low grades.

Due*
March 4 (MON)
5:00 PM
NOTE: Take to Main FCS Office.
May 6 (MON)
5:00 PM
Turn in to Main Office
Item
Application Form
Portfolio
(Include CEE Agreement in the first tab)
Points
10
100
May 6 (MON)
5:00 PM
NOTE: Materials should be included in Portfolio.
CEE Agreement Form, including: o Job Description (25) o Cover Letter (25) o Goals, Objectives and Outcome Measures (50)
100
NOTE: The following items must be uploaded in the Assignment
Folder on TRACS by 5:00 PM
SI – 6/3: SII – 7/8 (MON) Report 1 50
SI – 6/10: SII – 7/15 (MON)
SI – 6/17: SII – 7/22 (MON)
SI – 6/24: SII – 7/29 (MON)
SI – 6/24: SII – 7/29 (TH)
Report 2
Report 3
Report 4
Final Report
50
50
50
100
SI – 6/27: SII – 8/1 (TH) CEE Mentor (Student Performance) Evaluation** 50
Total Points 560

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the CEE Mentor (Student Performance)
Evaluation (form provided) is provided to the mentor and submitted by the mentor to the instructor via email by the deadline. This form is confidential and should not be viewed by the
student. NOTE: This evaluation may occur through an online survey in Summer 2013 – check with your instructor.
COURSE GRADES:
A > 504 points
B = 448 – 503 points
C = 392 – 447 points
D = 336 – 391 points
F < 336 points
WRITING INTENSIVE
This is a writing intensive course. At least 65% of assignments and exams must be written. All written materials will be graded for grammar, spelling, and other components of good writing, as well as content. Reports should be written using professional language and tone. All written assignments must be computer generated. It is particularly important for all of your work in this course to be written using professional language and tone, as well as using excellent grammar and style. All work should follow the guidelines of William Strunk in Elements of Style ( http://www.bartleby.com/141/ ).

HONOR CODE
All students are expected to comply with the Texas State University Honor Code
(http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01-att1.html). Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
SPECIAL NEEDS
If you are a student with a disability who will require accommodations to participate in this course, please contact me within the first two weeks of the semester. You will be asked to provide documentation from the Office of Disability Services (http://www.ods.txstate.edu/).
INSTRUCTOR
Faculty: BJ Friedman, PhD, RD, LD (Summer I only)
Office: FCS 283
Email: bf04@txstate.edu
Mail: FCS 283
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX 78666
Phone: 512.245.8342
Fax: 512.245.3829
Faculty: Sylvia Crixell, PhD, RD (Summer I and Summer II)
Office: FCS 281
Email: scrixell@txstate.edu
Mail: FCS 281
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX 78666
Phone: 512.789.6695 (personal cell for professional calls only)
Fax: 512.245.3829